Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department appoint new head of department to lead the fight against insurance fraudsters

Detective Chief Inspector (DCI) Edelle Michaels has been appointed as the new head of the City of London Police’s Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department (IFED).

• New Head of IFED DCI Edelle Michaels brings over 27 years of policing experience
• She takes over from predecessor DCI Andy Fyfe 
• DCI Michaels says she is looking forward to working with industry stakeholders in tackling challenges of insurance fraud

Detective Chief Inspector (DCI) Edelle Michaels has been appointed as the new head of the City of London Police’s Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department (IFED).

DCI Michaels brings with her over 27 years of experience as a police officer and has worked in the City of London Police’s Uniformed Policing Directorate for the past two and a half years. Prior to that, her background was as a detective working in fraud, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and also the Major Crime Unit, where as a Senior Investigating Officer (SIO) she dealt with reactive and proactive investigations.  


DCI Edelle Michaels, Head of IFED, said:

“I am excited to be working with such a successful and dynamic team, which has produced brilliant results over the past nine years in tackling the ever-changing threat posed by insurance fraudsters.  

“The unit’s hard work has ensured that those who endangered the public by engaging in insurance fraud have faced serious consequences, and I will be doing my utmost to ensure this continues, as well as scoping for proactive opportunities.

“The Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department has recently agreed three more years of funding and we are looking forward to working with our stakeholders in the insurance industry in meeting the challenges that will present themselves in that time.”


She takes over the role of leading the IFED team from DCI Andy Fyfe, who has since taken on a position within the force’s National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NIFB). 

Since its inception in 2012, IFED has now secured over 500 convictions - this year alone it has helped to convict a number of criminals, including a man who impersonated his female partner to make a £1m fake death claim, a married couple who used their children to inflate a car accident claim and a company director who doctored papers to try and steal £405k from his insurer.

IFED is dedicated to investigating serious, organised and opportunistic insurance fraud, as well as identifying and stemming emerging trends. It is jointly funded by the Association of British Insurers (ABI) and the Corporation of Lloyd’s.